The Secret of the Malfoy Name

Chapter XII: The Bet

09/23/1996
Draco sat at the Slytherin table waiting for Potter’s arrival anxiously. Since the moment they parted the night before he had thought about changing what he would tell Potter to do if he won; it was too tempting… he could make him do whatever he wanted! But his mind was settled, even if he regretted it later for wasting an opportunity like this. Of course, there was also the possibility that he might lose. Merlin! Where was he?

The doors to the Great Hall were opened and Potter and Weasley entered. Draco’s gaze went directly to Potter’s head and his mouth dropped open. The bird nest was back! Talk about a thick head! Potter looked straight at him and grinned. He could practically hear him laugh at him mockingly. Draco buried his head in his palms and tried not to hyperventilate. Now he would never say it… he was going to ask Potter to keep his secret, maybe even help him somehow, but that chance flew out the window.

And then it hit him. He had lost! He would have to do whatever Potter said. Maybe if he followed his lost opportunity out the window he would die first…

When it was time for Defence Against the Dark Arts he went straight to the classroom to avoid finding Potter around the corridors. That year’s new professor, Marianne Eliot, was sitting on her desk waiting for the class to begin. She was, to say the least, a bit unorthodox, but her classes were entertaining. In Draco’s opinion, if the werewolf and her ever found each other, they’d go right down the aisle. Too enthusiastic for his taste.

‘Mr. Malfoy… aren’t we early today’, she said cheerfully.

‘Yes, I ran out of better things to do…’, Draco murmured as he took a seat.

His classmates started to arrive, but he didn’t think Potter would go and talk to him with his friends near. Oh, how he wished the haircut had stayed, only for him to have to give lame excuses to everyone. Professor Eliot stood up in front of the class with a box covered with purple velvet.

‘OK, people… today I want you to work in random pairs. Write down your name in a piece of parchment, fold it and put it in the box. When you know who your partner is, take a seat together so we can start with today’s lesson.’

Draco wrote down his name and swallowed. With his bad luck, he’ll end up with Potter. Once everyone had put it in the box she touched it with her wand and two of the pieces of parchment flew to her outstretched hand.

‘Gregory Goyle and… Hermione Granger,’ she read out loud and put them on the desk. ‘Neville Longbottom and… Draco Malfoy.’

Draco breathed in relief as she went on. He was safe. Potter wouldn’t be able to tell him anything about the bet.

‘Parvati Patil and… Same time, same place? What is this supposed to mean?’, she laughed. ‘Not that I don’t appreciate originality, but using the box as a dating system is not very romantic, don’t you think?…’

Great…, Draco thought, now I’m dating Potter.

The matching went on while he was stuck with Longbottom thinking about how there was no escape now. He would have to meet him again and face his defeat. He looked at Potter’s hair as he sat with Lavender Brown and pictured it short in the back and spiky in the front. He had actually thought Potter was good-looking wearing his haircut. It made him want to run his fingers through it, feel it tickle around them. Draco shook the thought away. He needed to get laid immediately…

That night he went up to the Charms classroom again. People had been wondering who had written the note and for whom, and by lunch, the whole castle thought there were hidden lovers in 6th year. Potter and his bird nest were there already, but instead of looking drunk with triumph, he seemed nervous.

‘You know, you could’ve passed me a note and saved me the embarrassment’, Draco complained after shutting the door.

‘Don’t worry. No one will ever imagine we had anything to do with it.’

‘So… why are you not jumping with joy and ha-haing me?’, Draco asked.

‘I’m just… I can’t believe that I’m choosing you of all people to…’, Potter said, pacing around.

‘Enough preamble, Potter. Just say it already!’

‘Alright, alright…’, Potter took a big breath and said, ‘I need you to teach me how to be… no, that’s not what I wanted to say. How to act with… other people.’

Potter blushed and Draco lift an eyebrow.

‘By people you mean women?’, Draco asked.

‘Yeah, well… pretty much’, he laughed nervously.

‘You have a zillion friends and you come to me for help?’, Draco asked cheerfully, trying not to laugh at the poor boy. He suddenly seemed so vulnerable!

‘Yes, well… Ron is probably even worst than I am; the others have even less experience that I have to give any sort of advice; and I heard you’ve… been… around’, Potter blushed even harder.

‘Alright, if that’s what you want…’, Draco grinned.

‘But you can’t tell anyone about this. What happens in this room, stays in this room.’

‘Only if it works both sides’, Draco added.

‘Of course.’

‘Good’, Draco said both to Potter and himself. ‘Good.’

‘So… what should we start with?’

‘Well… I don’t know yet… who’s the girl, by the way? The Weasley?’, Draco asked curiously.

‘Ginny? Nah, she’s like a sister to me. It would be easier to explain if you had a sister, since you probably see all girls as doable…’

‘Right, because I’m a cold, cock-minded bastard. You know, if we’re going to do this, keep all the insults to yourself’, Draco said hotly.

‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.’

‘No, you shouldn’t…’

‘There’s no girl yet’, Potter said, breaking the awkward silence. ‘I just thought it would be a good opportunity to get the useful knowledge.’

‘Alright, tell me what would you do if you wanted to approach someone you like.’

‘I would probably say hi and blush’, Potter said frustrated.

‘Have you ever kissed anyone?’

‘Yes, but I don’t want to talk about it’, he laughed.

‘Used the tongue?’, Draco asked, suddenly liking the conversation.

‘No, it just caught me a bit for surprise and I didn’t know what to do.’

‘So, that was your only kiss?!’, Draco laughed. ‘You have so much to learn! OK, this is how I would handle the situation…’, he said taking a step towards Potter, and after seeing his shocked expression he added, ‘Don’t worry, I won’t kiss you.’

Draco looked at Potter up and down and grinned at him. He walked past him, barely touching his hand, without breaking the eye contact.

‘That is the easier move. It’s not always effective, but at least you’ll get her attention. If you want something more daring, you can always do something like this…’

He sneaked from behind him and slid a hand around his waist whispering ‘Hello gorgeous’ in his neck. The Malfoy move. He was teaching Potter the Malfoy move. He heard Potter swallow and breathe a little more loudly.

‘Body language’, Draco said as he let go of him. ‘It’s essential to pay attention to the girl’s unconscious moves and sounds. Her body’s response will tell you if what ever you’re doing it’s working or not. I guess I don’t need to teach you that, since you don’t need to be a genius to figure it out on your own.’

Draco looked at Potter, who hadn’t moved since he started talking.

‘Are you OK?’, Draco asked uncertainly.

‘Yes, go on’, he answered. ‘What’s the third tip?’

‘Let me think… I know there was something else… oh! Always start slow. A smooth touch is a lot more effective than a rough one. And try to play with the key spots, like the neck, the stomach, the thighs… especially the thighs’, Draco laughed. ‘Of course, that one’s a spot you need to save for when you’re getting more intimate. And I don’t think there’s much to know, really. The rest is all personality. Try to be more confident and you’re there.’

‘So, that’s it?’, Potter asked.

‘I think so… just don’t forget to use your tongue every once in a while, not just for kissing.’

‘I’ll try to keep it in mind’, he laughed. ‘Thank you…’, he said getting up to leave.

‘You’re leaving?’, Draco asked disappointedly.

‘Well, you said there was nothing more for me to learn so…’

‘I know, but given the what-happens-here-stays-here agreement, I wanted to tell you something…’

Potter looked at him intrigued.

‘Tell me what?’

‘Remember how you said that if I had a sister, it would be easier for me to understand…’, he begun.

‘Yes, go on’, he said taking his seat back.

‘I do. I do have a sister.’

‘What? Malfoy, I don’t know what you’re trying to get to, but I know you’re an only child.’

‘Didn’t I tell you lately you know shit about me?! Just try not to question every word I say and let me talk!’, Draco yelled. He took a big breath and went on. ‘Almost nine years ago, my mother gave birth…’

‘And it wasn’t your father’s…’

‘Argh! Potter, if you want me to tell you this, keep your mouth shut’, he snapped. ‘It was my father’s. She was a perfect Malfoy. Hera became my best friend, my world, and she still is.’

‘But why haven’t I ever heard about her?’, Potter asked timidly.

‘Because for years we thought she was a squib’, Draco said and Potter’s jaw dropped. ‘Yes, I know what you must be thinking… a muggle hating family with a squib for a member. I’m not much of an irony lover, to say the truth. Anyway, Father was concerned about the family; he said that as soon as the world found out about it, it would be a scandal and when the Dark Lord returned to power, he’d make him kill her. That was why, instead of waiting until we were too “attached” to her, he wanted to kill her immediately.’

‘Oh, my God!’

‘I know! But I talked him out of it. I begged him to find a different solution, to fake her death or something, and he actually liked the idea. He kidnapped a kid in London, polyjuiced him to look like Hera and killed him. Hera has been locked in the dungeons ever since and we all acted like she had died in her sleep. People believed it, she wasn’t even a year old when it happened.’

‘Why are you telling me this?’, Potter suddenly asked.

‘Do you know what is like to keep a secret like this for so many years? I needed someone to talk to, someone that would never repeat it to anybody else. I have no real friends in here, so I kept it all to myself.’

‘Don’t worry. I won’t tell a sole…’, he gave him a reassurance look and gestured him to go on.

‘So… about five years ago I found out she was a seer, but she asked me not to tell our parents. They, on the other hand, stopped visiting her. In fact, if it hadn’t been for me, I think they wouldn’t remember they had a daughter at all. Time went on and, after Father escaped from Azkaban, he went down to the dungeons to hide. He found out my sister was a seer and asked her to predict something for him. Of course, she was still angry at him for everything he’d done to her and predicted he would be murdered by the one he least suspected of. She wouldn’t tell anyone who it would be, not even me. My father went crazy and paranoid. He won’t even sleep in the bedroom with Mother.’

‘Malfoy… I’m so sorry about everything, with your sister and your father…’

‘My father?’, Draco laughed. ‘I couldn’t care less about him, but I’m worried about Hera. What he might do to her if she doesn’t want to tell him what she sees… if he was going to do it before…’

Draco felt like his chest would explode. He needed to stop talking. He touched his ring for the tenth time that night and started pacing around. He had to take her out of that Manor. Potter grabbed him by the arm and held him tightly.

‘It’s going to be alright. I’ll help you. We’ll save her’, he whispered stroking his hair to calm him down.

‘But, how?’, Draco asked with his head buried in Potter’s shoulder, fighting not to cry. ‘It’s not like we can just leave the castle and go get her.’

‘Why not? What do you say if tomorrow night we meet again and pull a Weasley?’

‘You’d really do that for me?’, Draco asked looking into his eyes. Potter gave him a comforting smile and nodded. ‘Thank you so much. I’ll be forever indebt to you, Potter.’

‘Look, why don’t we both go to sleep. We need to be fully rested for tomorrow’, he said, patting his shoulder. ‘And please… stop calling me Potter.’